Daijiworld Media Network - Washington (SHP)

Washington, Nov 26: A 19-year-old Indian-American student was found sexually assaulted and strangulated to death in Chicago. The brutal murder has horrified the community in the United States.

The victim identified as Ruth George, hails from Hyderabad, was an honours student at the University of Illinois. As per sources, the lifeless body of George was found in the back seat of a family-owned vehicle in a campus garage.

The assailant, Donald Thurman (26) was arrested on Sunday from a Chicago metro station. Thurman was not affiliated to the university and was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault for the crime.

George who was a sophomore at the university was a Kinesiology major. According to a statement by the family to the campus police, the victim was missing in action since Friday evening.

Her phone was located on the Halsted Street Parking Garage. Once the police and family members reached the location, they saw George lay unresponsive in the back seat of a vehicle owned by her family.

Police then requested assistance from the FBI Evidence Response Team to assist in the processing of the crime scene and to complete forensics on the vehicle.

According to the university, video footage of the incident was retrieved by the police where the accused, Thurman can be seen following George hours before her murder.

The video places George at the garage around 1:35 am, followed by Thurman. He is seen again on video footage at 2:10 am walking on Halsted Street.

Police then reviewed video footage from the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago POD cameras and its internal system to determine travel patterns of the offender. Based on the observations, police detectives decided to watch the Blue line station during the hours that the offender had previously travelled on the Blue line.

Thurman, who has a criminal history, was arrested on Sunday near the Blue line train station at Halsted and Harrison streets. He was taken into custody where he confessed to the crime.

"All of us are devastated by the loss of Ruth George, a member of our Honours College and a talented Kinesiology student with dreams and aspirations to become a health professional and help others. Our thoughts, our hearts and our condolences are with her family and friends during this trying period," University Chancellor Michael D Amiridis said in a statement.

According to local ABC7 news, yellow ribbons are hung around the campus in memory of George, who was nicknamed 'Baby Colour'.

"The ribbon hung is in her favourite colour," Cynthia Martinez, UIC student said. "They just asked if we could tie them somewhere on campus, in her memory," she added.

Her former gymnastics team coach said in a statement to ABC7 that George was a 'sweet girl' with the 'brightest smile' who will be dearly missed.